Total to Fast-Track North Sea Atla Field

- Total to Fast-Track North Sea Atla Field

Friday, July 08, 2011
Det norske oljeselskap ASA

Total E&P Norge has, on behalf of the partnership in license 102C, submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) for Atla to the authorities. In addition to Total which is the operator, the partnership in 102C consists of Petoro, Centrica and Det norske, with a 10 percent interest.

The discovery on Atla (formerly called David) was made in oktober 2010. Gas-condensate was proven in the Brent formation. Comprehensive tests and sampling was carried out. According to plan, the exploration well from 2010 will also be used as a production well, which has great significance for the projects profitability. Total investments are estimated to 1.4 billion NOK ($258.7 million).

"Atla is a prospect we have known about for a long time, in which we succeeded to enter, and one we have promoted in the drilling schedule. We are very pleased with the work Total has put down in this small-scale discovery, as the operator."

"The license managed to quickly develop a good solution for development. This is the first development project we, Det norske, participate in. It also represents the beginning of a series of development projects in the coming years, which will give us a considerable production," said Erik Haugane.

Atla is situated in the central part of the North Sea, 20 kilometers northeast of the Heimdal Field. The discovery will be produced using a subsea installation connecting with an existing pipeline between Heimdal and Skirne. Total is also operator of the Skirne Field.

Recoverable reserves are estimated to be 12 million barrels of oil equivalents.

Licensees in 102C are:

• Total E&P Norge AS (40 %)
• Petoro AS (30 %)
• Centrica Resources (Norge) AS (20 %)
• Det norske (10 %)

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Chevron, Apache, PTTEP Awarded Australia Exploration Permits

- Chevron, Apache, PTTEP Awarded Australia Exploration Permits

by Ross Kelly
Friday, July 08, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
SYDNEY

Chevron, Apache and Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) are among six companies that have been awarded new offshore oil and gas exploration permits by Australia's government.

Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson on Friday estimated that exploration work on the six permits in waters off Western Australia and South Australia states will have a combined value of nearly A$137 million over three years, with further investment possible depending on exploration success.

Special conditions have been placed on PTTEP, which was responsible for the Montara oil spill offshore northern Australia in 2009. These include lodging governance processes with the regulator prior to drilling, preparing a spill mitigation report, and being open to a peer review of drilling operations at the regulator's discretion.

Other companies to win permits include MEO Australia and little-known Australian firms Flow Energy Ltd. and Bight Petroleum Corp.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Transocean: Rig Off Ghana Remains Stable after Taking On Water

- Transocean: Rig Off Ghana Remains Stable after Taking On Water

Friday, July 08, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
HOUSTON
by Ryan Dezember

Transocean said Thursday that the deep-water drilling rig off Ghana that was evacuated Wednesday after it took on water remains stable.

The company is working on unmooring the Transocean Marianas, which is anchored some 46 miles offshore, and plans to tow it to sheltered water to inspect damage, spokesman Guy Cantwell said.

It will likely be at least a week before a full damage assessment can be made, Cantwell said.

There have been no injuries and a skeleton crew remain aboard the vessel, Cantwell said. And because the rig was not drilling when it began taking on water, there is no risk of an oil spill.

Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon, which exploded last year while drilling a well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 and touching off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Since then Transocean has faced scrutiny over its safety procedures and maintenance of the world's largest offshore drilling fleet.

More than 100 workers were evacuated from the Marianas on Wednesday when it was discovered to have taken on water. A semisubmersible rig, the Marianas floats on large ballast tanks, or pontoons, which are filled with water for stability during drilling and emptied to ease transport. It was built in 1976 and upgraded to drill in depths up to 7,000 feet in 1998.

The rig had been drilling for ENI and was in the process of being moved to drill an exploration well for Kosmos Energy and partners that include Anadarko, Tullow Oil and Ghana's national oil company.

The Marianas was expected to arrive on site next week and Kosmos on Thursday asked Ghana for more time to begin drilling the prospect while it searches for a new rig.

The loss of income from the Marianas, which earned $450,000 a day on its contract with ENI, will likely trim Transocean's earnings by 15 cents per share this year, analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. said in a client note.

"As of now we are assuming rig does not work for rest of 2011," the Houston-based analysts said.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Lundin Hits Gas Pay in Barents Sea

- Lundin Hits Gas Pay in Barents Sea

Friday, July 08, 2011
Lundin Petroleum AB

Lundin, operator of production license 438, has completed well 7120/2-3S on the Skalle prospect as a gas discovery. A comprehensive logging and coring program has been acquired.

The well is situated approximately 25 kilometers north of the Snohvit Field in the south western part of the Barents Sea. The primary target for the well was to prove hydrocarbons in reservoir rocks from both the Cretaceous and the Jurassic age. Gas was proven in three separate zones.

The initial gross contingent resource range for the Skalle discovery is estimated at between 88 to 280 billion cubic feet (bcf) (15 to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe)). There is a potential for a deeper oil leg in the lower Cretaceous reservoir of Skalle and an upside potential in Skalle substructures.

The results of the well will be further analyzed to determine the appraisal program for the discovery.

Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum commented, "The Skalle gas discovery is close to existing infrastructure with upside potential both in nearby substructures and other prospects on the license. We remain confident regarding the oil prospectivity of Lundin Petroleum's Barents Sea acreage."

The well 7120/2-3S is the first exploration well in PL438 and was drilled to a vertical depth of approximately 2,600 meters below sea level.

Well 7120/2-3S was drilled using the rig Transocean Leader, which now will move to PL265 in the Greater Luno Area in the Norwegian North Sea to drill the Aldous Major South exploration well 16/2-8. Statoil ASA is the operator of PL265 and Lundin Petroleum has a 10 percent interest.

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